


not a cinderella story

by shimmeron



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Editor Donghyuck, Famous Mark, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Non-Famous Donghyuck, Rapper Mark Lee, i love taeil and jungwoo too even though they’re only mentioned, i still love him, it’s mostly fluff tho dw, lmao i’m sorry kun doesn’t have a soulmate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-06-11 01:00:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15303960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shimmeron/pseuds/shimmeron
Summary: donghyuck resents being likened to some modern day cinderella figure, and mark just wants to find his soulmate.(in which the world blooms into color when you meet your soulmate, and both mark and donghyuck are completely caught off guard)





	not a cinderella story

**Author's Note:**

> hey there!! i’d first like to start with the disclaimer that it’s been a while since i’ve written anything, and a few days ago i was suddenly inspired. this is not only the longest thing i have ever written but also the most rushed — i literally wrote it all overnight, within 9 hours, so who knows what this is really like lmao
> 
> i was nervous to post this at first, but the sweetest soul on twitter reassured me so here we are
> 
> there’s very minimal proofreading, and i’m not entirely happy with it but i don’t want to think too much about it
> 
> i hope you enjoy reading!

Eyes darting around, Johnny swiftly weaved back and forth between staff members and miscellaneous props scattered throughout the backstage area. He spotted Ten in one corner of the room, hands flailing in expressive gestures as he conversed with whoever was on the other end of the phone call, and Johnny was surprised to glimpse Jaehyun and Taeyong as well, as they were normally seated somewhere in the crowd by this time, but he didn’t pause to dwell on it.

Instead, he spared a brief glance at his wristwatch, and upon seeing that there were less than five minutes until showtime, he resumed his search in earnest.

Where could he possibly be? Johnny had already checked all the places Mark usually snuck off to when he wanted to clear his head before a performance: the roof, balconies, open windows—basically anywhere the young rapper could get a breath of fresh air—but the search had yielded no results.

Mentally berating Mark for making himself scarce when there was a crowd of people expecting his presence in mere _minutes,_ Johnny was one moment away from pulling out his own hair in frustration when the boy _finally_ crossed his line of vision, now striding toward Johnny like he hadn’t shaved five years off the elder’s lifespan from pure stress.

“ _Where were you?_ ” Despite Johnny’s best efforts to keep his voice steady, the words came out as a hiss.

At that, Mark tilted his head at his manager, confusion gradually setting into his face. “Uh, the restroom?” He said, his tone raising at the end as if he was the one asking a question.

The restroom. _Why_ hadn’t Johnny checked _the restroom?_

“Well, then what took you so long? The show’s supposed to be starting in less than five minutes,” muttered Johnny, pivoting and already beginning to walk away without waiting to see if Mark would follow.

Mark was right on his heel though. “Ah, sorry, I didn’t realize.”

The sounds of echoing chatter gradually grew louder as they got closer to the entrance to the stage, and as they came to a stop beside the curtain, Johnny turned toward him. “I’m supposed to be your manager, Mark, not your babysitter. Don’t do this again.” The harsh words were softened by the fatigue in Johnny’s tone, and all Mark could do was send the elder an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, hyung,” he said with as sincere a tone he could muster, just as Hayoung, one of the audio technicians, caught sight of him and hastened over to equip him with a microphone and earpiece.

“Not to worry—no harm done, right?” Johnny smiled at him. “I mean, other than the mild panic attack you gave me.”

“ _Hyung_ ,” said Mark with a slight whine, and Johnny’s smile widened into a grin.

Mark huffed at that, feigning annoyance as he pointedly looked away, and his eyes honed in on two familiar figures that were headed in his direction.

His face immediately lit up, and as soon as Hayoung finished fiddling with his mic, he drifted closer to the pair of producers, hardly able to contain his delight at seeing them. “Jaehyun hyung, Taeyong hyung! What are you still doing backstage? The show’s starting soon!”

“Yeah, in two minutes,” reminded Johnny, materializing behind them with another glance at his watch.

Jaehyun smiled at Mark, dimples on display. “We just wanted to come wish you luck.”

Mark grinned back. “You know I don’t need luck when the best team in the world is working behind the scenes,” he said, and Johnny chuckled at the response.  

Taeyong just rolled his eyes goodnaturedly as he shifted closer to his husband almost imperceptibly, like it was so natural that he hadn’t even thought to do it, but Mark’s eye caught it. “Then we’re here to tell you to have fun tonight. We know you’ve been a little tense lately and hope you’ll destress a little.”

And at that, Mark’s smile suddenly felt thin, a little too tight.

Of course, other people had picked up on his mood change of late—it was glaringly obvious—but he had still hoped that it had gone unnoticed, because really, the entire thing was dumb and Mark wanted to just leave it be, even if his heart wouldn’t.

If there was one thing that was indisputable about Mark, it was that he was a busy person. As an internationally renowned rapper, he was constantly running from interview to photoshoot to meeting, with the majority of his days spent in the studio and his nights lined up with shows; yet somehow, his mind still had the time to wander. Every time he chanced upon a couple, whether they were simply standing next to each other or making out in public, his stomach churned, which only angered him further _because what kind of monster was nauseated by something so precious?_

He’d thought about it long and hard before he’d realized that it wasn’t disgust that stabbed him in the gut when he caught Jaehyun and Taeyong sending each other loving looks during late night songwriting sessions, or repulsion when he saw Ten and Johnny huddled together in the car after concerts, drifting off to sleep in the warm comfort of their lover; no, it was something a hundred times worse: _envy._

Truth be told, he had no idea where the feeling had come from. It wasn’t as if he didn’t get his fair share of cuddles or “I love you’s” because he got plenty; the sudden feeling was simply inexplicable, but if he had to guess, he supposed it was because he’d grown restless after being surrounded by happy couples his whole life.

He’d never pondered the idea of _soulmates_ much before, as he was far too busy and he simply relied on the fact that his time would come, but lately? Lately, he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

It was always on his mind— _when would they meet? where would it be? would his soulmate be a boy or a girl?_ —and by now, he’d probably thought of a hundred different scenarios of his soulmate meeting. Maybe they’d be a barista at a coffee shop Mark would visit, or perhaps someone that he runs into at a party. Maybe his soulmate meeting would go a little like Ten and Johnny’s: they’d finally meet on the first day of a new job, and everything would explode in color, vivid hues painting the world anew.

It wasn’t that he had grown tired of seeing in shades of grey; his black and white world was stunning, but Mark just wanted to be with his soulmate, the one person he knew he was destined for. He was starting to almost crave it, yearning for a kind of love that felt like coming home after a long day and sinking into your lover’s embrace, the kind of love that was so strong it left him breathless and then filled his lungs itself. He saw that kind of love in Jaehyun and Taeyong—it engulfed them, as they’d found each other nearly eight years ago in Jaehyun’s first semester in college—and he saw it in Ten and Johnny, as it had taken its time settling in the home they’d built with each other.

He was beginning to think that maybe he just didn’t have a soulmate. The average age that people met their soulmates was 18 (it was considered _coming of age_ for a reason), and Mark was turning 24 this year. 6 years a little too late.

And rationally, he knew that was okay— _average_ didn’t mean _standard_ —but his heart had taken precedence over his head recently, and it seemed that his brooding had bled into other affairs of his life, obvious to the people around him.

He really needed to pull himself together.

“Thanks, hyungs,” he said softly, shooting all three of them a smile. “Really.”

“Mark!” At the call of his name, Mark turned and glimpsed the stage manager gesturing him over to the edge of the stage.

“Showtime,” murmured Mark, taking a deep breath. He glanced at his friends once more. “See you all afterwards.”

“Don’t forget about what we said. Have fun!” said Taeyong, and Jaehyun nodded along to the words.

“Blow the crowd away like I know you will.” Johnny grinned.

And with those final words of farewell, Mark turned his back to them and walked toward the platform that was supposed to take him under the stage and then lift him up to the concert hall.

He situated himself on it and made sure he was secure before glancing at the stage manager, who was waiting to the side. “You ready?” asked Jeongin, and as soon as Mark flashed him a thumbs up, Jeongin murmured something into his earpiece.

The platform started moving then, and Mark could pinpoint the exact moment that the lights in the hall dimmed to black because the audience’s screams grew louder, the roaring discernible even through earplugs. The energy was nearly tangible, and excitement gradually seeped into his bones, his heart rate quickening and his breaths coming out more and more shallow.

Mark loved this part of the show; he loved every part of performing really, but _this_. There were no words for this kind of euphoria.

He lifted his hands up in two peace signs as his body slowly came into view of the audience. _“How are we doing tonight, Seoul?”_

Hundreds of voices drifted back to him with that question, and he grinned, head tilting toward the warmth of the stage lights and eyes falling shut as he reveled in the moment.

Only when the platform come to a solid stop did he open his eyes again, to take in the sight of all the wonderful fans who he’ll have the pleasure to perform before tonight, but then all he could do was stumble forward.

This moment had been described to Mark countless times before—by his friends, his family, strangers on the internet—but he had never really understood it.

At least, not until now.

There was something just breathtaking about watching the world bloom into colors all along the spectrum of the universe, beyond just black and white. It felt like an overcast sky of grey clouds had finally cleared, and the Earth was teeming with sunlight and warmth.

For a brief moment, it was pure beauty because it was meant to be that way.

But it didn’t remain that way.

When he looked out into the crowd, dread gradually settled in his gut. _No,_ he thought to himself. _This can’t be happening right now._

Trust Mark to have this kind of luck.

 

 

 

If Donghyuck could go back in time, he’d travel all the way back to his first day of kindergarten—first, so he could tell his five year old self that he’s doing amazing, and then so he can stop the dumb boy from befriending even dumber Na Jaemin on the playground.

“Hey, did you know that Donghyuck here carried a teddy bear everywhere he went when he was little?”

Donghyuck scowled and leaned back in his chair, as if he was physically trying to get away from this conversation, as the guy sitting across from him cooed at Jaemin’s words.

“That’s adorable,” Yukhei said, sending Donghyuck a smile that he tried to reciprocate, but unfortunately, his mood was wholly ruined with the arrival of his idiot best friend who, for the record, would _not_ be his best friend as soon as someone invented a time machine.

“Yeah, yeah, I suppose it would be,” replied Jaemin, and Donghyuck knew exactly where this was going. “If it weren’t for the fact that he did that until he was in middle school!” Jaemin revealed the last part like it was meant to be the climax of a horror film, and Donghyuck sighed.

Yukhei sent Donghyuck an amused look at that, and really, all he could do was shrug. It wasn’t true (Cheddar wasn’t just some common bitch, he was a friend) but now that Jaemin had said it, there was always going to be a seed of doubt in his head no matter what Donghyuck said. So why try to fight it?

“And that’s just a taste of the _really_ light stuff,” said Jaemin, chuckling under his breath.

Neither Donghyuck nor Yukhei responded to that, but Jaemin didn’t seem bothered, rubbing his hands together while in thought. “Uh, alright, so I’m not really sure how serious Donghyuck is about you, but I’ll go ahead and tell you some more stuff, just to be safe! So in middle school, Donghyuck— oh wait, you need context to understand what I’m about to tell you. Okay, so when Donghyuck was around twelve or thirteen, he was heavily entrenched in his screamo and rock band obsession. He had a fringe and used to wear terrible eyeliner—now, don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t terrible because it was thick or anything, it was just that he used to accidentally smear it _everywhere,_ even on _my_ clothes somehow _—_ and yeah, he just had this whole punk look going for him, even though he was a total sweetheart. But that’s beside the point. So if you’ll recall, 2013 was the year that MCR broke up. And when Donghyuck heard, he tried to _run away_. He packed a bag, which by the way was mostly full of snacks, and then he—”

Jaemin was laughing too hard to continue now, and Donghyuck was beginning to feel the onset of embarrassment as he remembered the godforsaken incident of 2013. “Okay, that’s enough, Jaemin-ssi.”

He stood, completely ignoring Jaemin’s attempts to finish his story, and Yukhei followed Donghyuck’s gestures, standing as well. Donghyuck then led the both of them to the front of the cafe, only stopping before the door.

“Well, that was interesting.” Yukhei grinned, amusement shining across his features, and Donghyuck groaned.

“God, I’m so sorry about that. I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but he’s always been like that, I guess.” He glanced back at the table where Jaemin was still sitting, now calmly drinking his coffee like he hadn’t just spent ten minutes clowning Donghyuck.

As if he sensed a hateful gaze on his back, Jaemin turned around and then smiled so innocently that Donghyuck almost gasped. The audacity.

“It’s okay, it was funny. I like him,” said Yukhei.

Donghyuck made a face. “Really? Why?”

Yukhei laughed at that, making Donghyuck grin.

“I’m hoping that our next date is still on?” He asked tentatively. After that mess, who knew where Yukhei’s head was at.

But fortunately, he nodded.

“See you next week, Donghyuck,” he confirmed before pushing the door open and disappearing with a small wave.

Jaemin was still sipping on his drink and scrolling through his phone when Donghyuck made his way back to the table. “Did he cancel your next date?” Jaemin glanced up and asked, sounding almost hopeful.

“Nope,” Donghyuck replied, feeling a little smug as Jaemin sighed.

“Respect. Wong Yukhei is a strong one,” he said, seemingly impressed as he returned his attention back to his phone. “Looks like I’ll have to crash your next date too.”

“Or, and here’s a crazy idea, you can just leave my love life alone,” suggested Donghyuck casually, and Jaemin‘s eyes narrowed as he switched his phone off.

“Tell me, Donghyuck, what color is my phone case?” He held the back of his phone out toward Donghyuck, challenging Donghyuck to say the right answer.

Donghyuck merely shrugged, taking a sip from his strawberry smoothie.

“See, and _that_ is why I will continue to interfere in your love life. Why do you keep trying to find love with people who aren’t your soulmate?” Jaemin sounded angry now, and all Donghyuck really wanted to do was avoid this topic.

“Because the idea of soulmates is full of shit, Jaemin. You know that, and I know that. And why should I just sit around and wait for some supposedly perfect person, when there’s someone amazing right in front of me?”

A beat. “You’re going to meet your soulmate one day, and someone’s going to get hurt.”

Donghyuck scoffed at that. “Newsflash. People get hurt with or without their soulmate.”

Jaemin just rolled his eyes and unlocked his phone again, his attention diverted for the time being. “You’re an absolute brat, you know that?”

“Learned from the best.”

“I’m just trying to look out for you.” Jaemin shook his head. “Look at me, exhausting myself the morning of Mark Lee’s concert! For an ungrateful, foolish, bratty, overgrown manchild who’s reckless and immature—“

“Okay, I get it!” Donghyuck cut Jaemin off, laughing, and the latter continued to scroll through his Instagram feed, aggressively liking pictures in silence. “I’m an asshole.”

“No, you’re just stupid,” muttered Jaemin. “And you never think before you do something.”

“Okay, well, then I guess I’m brainless,” replied Donghyuck with a roll of his eyes, only to receive no response.

“Jaemin.”

Silence.

“Jaemin,” Donghyuck dragged out the last syllable, hoping to get Jaemin to look up. “You’re not mad, are you?”

When Jaemin continued to pointedly refuse to acknowledge him, Donghyuck heaved a sigh. “I’ll help you pick out an outfit for the concert tonight,” he offered.

“You dumbass, you promised me that weeks ago. Give me something new.” Jaemin snapped to attention, and Donghyuck burst into laughter.

“Okay, okay. I’ll buy you a Mark Lee shirt when we get to the venue.”

And at that, Jaemin finally cracked a smile. “Tonight’s going to be amazing.”

 

 

 

In Donghyuck’s humble opinion, Mark Lee was overrated.

(Which was slightly ironic since he was currently at the the latter’s concert, waiting for the rapper to appear on the stage any moment now).

That didn’t mean that he thought Mark Lee wasn’t talented. Anyone with working eyes and some knowledge of the celebrity world could see that Mark was insanely gifted and hard-working as well. The guy was literally everywhere; if you turned on the TV, you might be able to catch a broadcast of his weekly TV show; if you opened YouTube, you might be able to watch his latest interview; and if you logged into Twitter, you might be able to find pictures from his latest concert. It was so incredible that sometimes Donghyuck couldn’t help but wonder if Mark Lee even got any sleep, and he had to admit that the guy’s work ethic was admirable.

But that’s just as far as Donghyuck would take it; if he was left to his own devices, he’d be at home right now, probably eating a fruit salad and watching Coco for the third time this week. (He watched it for the first time last week, and he couldn’t believe that he hadn’t watched it before.)

With Jaemin and the rest of their friends in the picture though, that was just an unrealistic scenario for Donghyuck’s night. The moment his friends had heard that Mark Lee had an upcoming show in Seoul, they’d purchased tickets for themselves, and Jaemin had bought an extra one for Donghyuck, insisting that he’d miss out on the greatest night of his life if he didn’t come with them. He’d even slyly added that Donghyuck would have the opportunity to take pictures for the next edition of the magazine that Donghyuck worked for, _knowing_ that Doyoung hyung had been trying to reach a teen audience lately and _knowing_ that Donghyuck loved his job.

So Donghyuck had relented. For the sake of doing his job well, not because he had a weak spot for Na Jaemin. Absolutely not. The bright grin that lit up Jaemin’s face when Donghyuck agreed didn’t mean anything to him.

Donghyuck turned to look at Jaemin beside him now and smiled when he saw him cheerfully talking away to Jisung and Chenle while clearing out his phone storage, decked out in a Mark Lee shirt that Donghyuck had purchased for him as soon as they’d arrived. (Donghyuck didn’t understand why Jaemin had spent an hour getting ready if his plan was to simply wear the tour merch, but Jaemin said it was the principle of the thing, whatever that meant.)

“God, for the _last_ time, Jeno, I am not wearing that shirt.”

The loud outburst had Donghyuck’s head turning to catch Renjun frowning, arms crossed over his chest, and a distressed Jeno beside him.

“But you’d look so cute in it, Injun! And I bought it just for you, come on, babe.”

“Jeno, _no._ It’s sleeveless, and it’s freezing in here!”

“So? I’ll keep you warm if you get cold!” Jeno suddenly looked around. “Jaemin, tell Injun he should wear this shirt! Wouldn’t he look good?”

At the call of his name, Jaemin stiffened, nearly imperceptible to everyone but Donghyuck who could read his best friend like a book, maybe even better than a book.

Donghyuck watched as Jaemin turned toward the bickering soulmates and nodded.

“Sure, but Renjun looks good now too, so it’s up to him. I think the shirt is nice though. You have good taste, Jeno,” he offered with a smile before facing away, oblivious to the proud smile on Jeno’s face at the praise and the pink dusting Renjun’s cheeks as the elder took the shirt from Jeno’s hands.

“Thanks, Jaemin,” Jeno called out, making an exaggerated heart with his hands, and seeing that, Jaemin laughed, blowing him a kiss before resuming his conversation with Jisung and Chenle.

Donghyuck had to shake his head at the whole ordeal. Those three were his absolute best friends, but boy, were they a bunch of blind fools. Jaemin’s pining for them and their pining for him were both so dolefully obvious that Donghyuck just wanted to tell them to open their eyes.

“So what do you guys think Mark’s setlist is going to be?” Donghyuck overheard Chenle wonder. “Do you think he’s going to rap The 7th Sense tonight?”

Jaemin snorted. “When Limitless exists? No way. And it’s too old anyway.”

“It’s one of his most popular songs though! He definitely will,” argued Jisung, and Jaemin arched an eyebrow in disbelief. “I’ll dye my hair blue if he doesn’t,” he added.

“Yeah, I agree with Jisungie,” said Chenle after thinking about the matter.

“So you’ll dye your hair, too?” asked Jaemin, amused.

“Sure, why not? Maybe purple, though,” Chenle considered.

“Oh, that would look really good on you,” remarked Jisung.

Chenle pouted at that, reaching up to touch his hair. “I don’t look good now?” He inquired, and Jisung backtracked hastily, completely missing the fact that Chenle was only teasing him.

“I mean, you look amazing with blond hair! And you looked amazing when you had black hair and when you had brown hair.” He listed with his fingers as Chenle turned to smile up at him, his gaze softening. “And I’m sure any other color would look good on you too, whether it’s red, orange, green, pink, blue, silver, violet–”

Donghyuck groaned. “God, we get it, Jisung. You can see all the colors in a rainbow. Congratulations, once again.”

Despite being cut off, Jisung just laughed, slinging an arm around Chenle’s shoulder as he turned to face Donghyuck. “Jealousy is a disease, hyung. Get well soon.”

“Not jealous,” said Donghyuck immediately, which probably only made it seem all the less convincing in retrospect.

“Of course you aren’t. I believe you,” said Chenle, with a wink that let Donghyuck know he didn’t believe him at all, and Donghyuck couldn’t refrain from rolling his eyes. “Don’t worry, hyung, you’ll meet your soulmate, too.”

“You’ve only known Jisung for like six months, and you’re patronizing me,” Donghyuck said, laughing at the situation.

“Yeah, and they’re the best six months of my life,” retorted Chenle, too focused on Donghyuck to notice Jisung blush. “You’ll see how the world changes when you meet that special someone, hyung.”

Donghyuck just scoffed. “That kind of sounds like a threat.”

Being the last one in their friend group who still couldn’t see color definitely had its disadvantages, including unwanted conversations like these, but at the same time, Donghyuck didn’t really mind it. His friends all just wanted the best for him, and Donghyuck loved them for it, even if he didn’t agree with what they were saying. Meeting your soulmate wasn’t that groundbreaking. Who really cared?

He knew that soulmates mostly ended up in loving relationships—and mostly romantic ones too, though there _was_ a small percentage that preferred to keep it platonic—but Donghyuck just liked to remember that soulmates didn’t mean everything. His parents could testify to that, as they had separated when he was young, and so could Jaemin, standing just a few feet away. For whatever reason, Jaemin had always been able to see colors; he had never met his soulmate—he didn’t even know if he had one—and in Donghyuck’s eyes, that just proved that the universe and its concept of soulmates were wholly unreliable. There was no method to the madness.

It was utter bullshit to believe in soulmates. How could the universe possible know who the right person for you was?

There was a line that had to be drawn, and you had to be individually strong enough to live with or without any one person; you couldn’t just foolishly invest yourself into anyone, not knowing whether or not they would guard your heart or grind it into dust.

To Donghyuck, soulmates were about the principle of the thing, as Jaemin would say. He didn’t need some soulmate to live happily, and his life was going to be proof of it for as long as it could be.

“Alright, enough about this, we–” Just as Jaemin began to speak, the lights in the hall suddenly began to fade away, and a round of screams rang out, making Donghyuck burst out into shocked laughter at the change in the atmosphere.

“Oh my God, okay, it’s happening,” said Jisung, eyes wide as he craned his neck to see over the people standing in front of them.

“Everybody stay calm,” continued Chenle, right before letting out an abrupt shriek of excitement that Donghyuck couldn’t help but wince at.

He pulled out his camera to start taking pictures of his friends around him, laughing quietly to himself. Renjun and Jeno were both screaming their heads off while struggling to hold up the poster they’d all brought with them, while Chenle and Jisung were whispering amongst themselves, the latter playfully swatting at Chenle.

When the camera landed on Jaemin, the boy suddenly turned, flashing it a wide smile and a peace sign. “Why is the camera on me? Point it at the stage, loser!” Jaemin yelled, and Donghyuck bumped his hip against Jaemin’s before doing so anyway.

“ _How are we doing tonight, Seoul?”_

And that would be Mark Lee rising out of the ground now, Donghyuck assumed, amused at the theatrics. He had to admit, this was just the right amount of dramatic to suit his tastes.

And he was kind of glad he came now, actually; he would have definitely regretted missing out on such a night with his friends.

His amusement was short-lived though, because in the next moment, Mark Lee came into view, and a chill ran down Donghyuck’s spine.

Oh, mere words wouldn’t have been able to do what Donghyuck was seeing justice.

Mark Lee was suddenly a light source in the darkness of the hall, and Donghyuck wasn’t entirely sure if the man’s skin was glowing due to the effect of stage lights or his own imagination. There were colors all around the room now, but Donghyuck could hardly focus on that when the brightest hues were blooming around Mark, radiating from him like rays of sunlight. The utter power that coursed through Donghyuck’s veins just from watching him nearly threw him out of kilter, and when Mark opened his eyes and staggered off the platform, Donghyuck knew.

He lowered the camera to his side, cursing. “Oh my God, _no._ ”

_This can’t be happening right now._

 

 

 

Donghyuck didn’t tell anyone of this new development, at least not until the concert had ended and the six of them had successfully piled into Jeno’s SUV.

Chenle and Jisung went straight to the back of the car, still raving about how amazing the last few songs in the setlist were, while Jaemin sunk into the seat beside Donghyuck.

“God, this was the best day of my life. I’m killing myself tomorrow,” said Jaemin, sighing with a wistful smile on his face.

Jeno frowned, glancing at Jaemin through the rearview mirror. “Okay, I know you’re quoting Aubrey Plaza right now, but you better not.”

“Yeah, or I’ll bring you back to life and kill you myself,” added Renjun, turning around from the passenger seat, and Jaemin laughed him off.

“Maybe you should stay the night with us, so we can keep an eye on you,” Jeno suggested, but Jaemin shook his head.

“No, that’s okay. I wouldn’t want to bother you two.”

“Trust us, you wouldn’t be bothering us at _all,”_  emphasized Renjun, but Jaemin just smiled, leaning back in his seat as he closed his eyes.

“It’s _fine,_  guys. I’m not killing myself tomorrow, God, don’t worry.”

“That’s really not the point,” muttered Renjun, and normally Donghyuck would have at least scoffed, but he stayed silent.

There were still a million thoughts running through Donghyuck’s mind, and he didn’t know where to begin with sorting them. He had absolutely no idea how Mark had the tenacity to march right on with the concert like nothing had happened when Donghyuck couldn’t even focus on anything else; he supposed it was because Mark was a professional. (Damn Mark Lee for not immediately cancelling.)

Did Mark know who his soulmate was?

Well, the answer to that was obvious, Donghyuck realized. Of course he didn’t. After all, how could the guy know? There were thousands of people in that room, all of whom were just as much of a stranger to him as Donghyuck was.

Donghyuck’s heart hurt for the guy, but what now? Where did Donghyuck go from here with this newfound (and quite undesired) information?

God, his head hurt.

“Say, Hyuck, you’ve been pretty quiet since the concert ended. Are you okay?” Renjun asked suddenly.

And at the question, Chenle and Jisung abruptly stopped chattering, plunging the car into silence as five concerned gazes turned toward Donghyuck, who faltered under their scrutiny.

For a moment, he debated whether or not to tell them the truth.

But there was no way he could handle this by himself; he was already lost.

“I met my soulmate,”  he murmured, hardly able to believe the words that were coming out of his own mouth.

“You _what?”_ Jeno shouted, the first to break the silence, and a chorus of similar sentiments were quick to follow.

“You really met your soulmate? Does that mean that you can see colors now?” asked Chenle gleefully, screaming when Donghyuck nodded.

Jaemin sat beside Donghyuck, stunned. But a large smile was quick to unfurl across his face as he reached out to take Donghyuck’s hands in his. “Oh my God, that’s amazing, I can’t believe it! You were standing next to me nearly the whole time, damn, when did you go off to meet them? Oh, hold on, was it when you went to the bathroom? Okay, not the most romantic of places to meet your soulmate, but it’s still exciting! Did you get their number to talk to them later?”

“Alright, I’m sure their number is nice, but hyung, what about your soulmate’s _name_?” Jisung interjected, effectively silencing everyone.

Donghyuck took a deep breath, fighting another internal battle between the truth and a lie. He could lie his way out of this, but eventually, the truth would come out, right?

Jaemin gave his hands an encouraging squeeze, and that settled it.

“Mark Lee,” he told them before he could regret it.

Not even a beat later, Jeno started laughing. “Oh God, that’s really funny, Hyuck.” He started the car’s engine and began reversing out of their parking space, still chuckling to himself. “That’s a good one. Perfectly timed, too.”

When Donghyuck didn’t join in, he tittered off weakly, sending a confused glance to Donghyuck and then to Renjun beside him. “Wait, are you being serious right now?”

“I wish I wasn’t,” replied Donghyuck cheerfully, pulling his hands away from Jaemin, whose grip had loosened after Donghyuck had uttered Mark’s name.

“Hyung, are you sure?” pressed Chenle, and Donghyuck thought back to that moment when Mark had appeared on the stage, shining like a literal angel sent from heaven, and he nearly groaned aloud. “Like 100% positive?”

“I’m 100% positive,” said Donghyuck, the happiness in his tone so fake it was nearly plastic.

“Well, this is still amazing,” said Jaemin slowly. “Just slightly unbelievable.”

“Slightly?” squeaked Jisung, his eyebrows so high they’d disappeared under his bangs. “What are the odds of that even happening?”

“Well, what now, Hyuck?” Renjun questioned, sounding worried. “Do you think he even knows?”

“Probably not.” Donghyuck shrugged.

“Are you going to tell him?” asked Chenle, raising an eyebrow.

“Probably not,” he repeated.

Jaemin frowned. “He has a right to know, Hyuck. You can’t not tell him.”

“Yeah, I know, Jaemin, but how am I going to contact him? And God, if by some chance that I _did_ get ahold of him, would he even believe me? He would never know if I was telling the truth or not, right? This is just a mess waiting to happen.” Donghyuck let out a laugh, and it was too loud and abrasive to his own ears. “The universe can really be fucked up sometimes.”

Jaemin didn’t respond for a few moments, but when he finally spoke up, his voice was quiet. “You can’t just leave it though. You still have a chance with him. I know there’s a part of you that doesn’t want to, but you have to try, Hyuck.”

“Yeah, and we’ll help you out along the way,” added Jeno, looking back to make eye contact with Donghyuck for the briefest moment. “We’re here for you, Hyuck. Whatever it is that you want to do.”

And even though Donghyuck still felt weary and uncertain about the future, his friends’ comforting words lifted just a bit of the weight off his shoulders.

 

 

 

“I can’t believe this,” muttered Mark, his fingers furiously tapping away at his phone screen.

“Can you please stop grumbling to yourself already?” said Yuta, laying upside down on the other end of the couch that Mark was currently sitting on. “You sound like Gollum. Just shut up, Markus, and tell your favorite backup dancer what’s going on.”

“Pick one, he can’t do both,” interrupted Sicheng. “And hey, I’m his favorite backup dancer.” Sicheng looked up from the game he’d been playing on his phone.

“No, sweetie, you’re _my_ favorite backup dancer,” corrected Yuta. “And _I’m_ Mark’s favorite backup dancer.”

“Sounds fake, but okay,” replied Sicheng, quickly returning to his game as if he’d just remembered that he couldn’t care less about this conversation that they were having.

Yuta sighed. “God, I love you.”

“Uh, hello, can we get back to me please?” asked Mark a little frantically. “Where the hell are Johnny hyung and Ten hyung? Taeyong hyung and Jaehyun hyung?”

“Sorry, Mark, Taeyong and Jaehyun headed home right after the concert ended tonight,” said Johnny, suddenly appearing in the backstage dressing room that Mark had holed himself in as soon as the show had ended, dragging Yuta and Sicheng along with him. “I got your ten thousand texts, what’s up?”

“Code red apparently,” said Yuta simply, staring blankly at the ceiling.

“Hyung, don’t you feel lightheaded in that position?” Ten inquired, squinting at Yuta, who didn’t respond.

Sicheng glanced up once to check on his boyfriend before returning to his phone. “He’s gone brain dead.”

“Okay, I don’t understand what’s happening right now, and I was hoping that Taeyong hyung and Jaehyun hyung would be here too, but this is fine. I can work with this, even though I’m still really freaked out,” Mark started, turning to look at each of his hyungs in turn. “Wow, has your hair always been that color, Sicheng hyung? I always figured it was just grey or something, but it’s so much brighter. I like it, but it’s really not helping me with the fact that I’m still _freaking out-_ ”

“Wait, Mark, did you just say _color?”_ asked Johnny, his brow furrowed.

Sicheng locked his phone and put it away, while Yuta sat up, his mouth hanging slightly open. “That’s what I heard.”

“Mark, you can see colors? Since when?” Ten demanded, thoroughly alarmed.

“Since about three hours ago,” Mark responded, on the verge of tears despite his resolve thus far. _Damn it._

The other four exchanged looks with each other. “Okay, explain,” encouraged Sicheng, and Mark inhaled, shaking.

“Well, when I got on stage tonight, I could suddenly see colors, but since there were so many people in the audience, I couldn’t figure out-”

“Oh my God, stop,” said Yuta, screwing his eyes shut like he was in physical pain. “You don’t know who your soulmate is, do you? Other than the fact that they were at the concert tonight.”

Mark nodded, even though he was sure they all knew the answer already.

“Wow,” breathed Ten, sparing a glance at Johnny, who seemed equally disturbed by Mark’s confession. “I couldn’t even imagine not knowing who my soulmate was.”

“I’m sorry, Mark,” said Sicheng softly.

“Hyungs, what do I do now?” He asked desperately. “Have I lost them forever?” A flare of panic seized Mark at that thought. _Oh, God, please don’t let that be true._

“Of course not, Mark. We’ll definitely find them.” Johnny sounded so sure of himself, Mark wanted to believe him, but there was still an inkling of doubt in his head.

“ _How_ will we find them though?”

“Well, if this person is your soulmate, then you’re their soulmate,” began Johnny. “And they definitely know you’re their soulmate, since you were isolated from the crowd and entered the room at a different time than everyone else. There’s no way they don’t know.”

“So we just get them to contact us,” said Ten, finishing Johnny’s line of thought.

“Exactly.” Johnny smiled triumphantly.

“ _How_ though?” Mark inquired, still 99% sure his soulmate had disappeared forever now.

“Well, we can always speed up the process,” contemplated Johnny before grinning. “Just leave it to your managers, Mark, we have your back. Now, hurry up, and we’ll drop you off at home, so you can get some sleep. You’ve been through a lot tonight.”

 

 

 

With Donghyuck’s new eyes, seeing had become a completely different experience.

He had never realized that the sky was such a vivid shade of blue, that even though most of the streets and buildings were still grey, there were streaks of colors around them that made the city come alive. There was so much more warmth in this city in comparison to the city he’d been living in a mere few days ago.

When Jaemin had sat him down yesterday and taught him the names of all of the colors, Donghyuck had cried when he saw yellow. It reminded him of the sun, of warmth and comfort.

Hands down, this was the most overwhelming thing Donghyuck had ever been through, and it was taking a lot of time for him to mentally adjust to it—first, because of all the colors, and second, because of his apparent soulmate. Mark Lee.

He’d spent the weekend thinking about Mark more than he’d ever admit to anyone else (although Donghyuck was sure Jaemin could tell anyway). And his friends definitely didn’t help keep Mark off his mind; once they’d gotten over the initial shock over _who_ Donghyuck’s soulmate was, they’d become themselves again (read: they’d become annoying again).

(“Hey, hyung, once you and Mark get together, can you get me and Jisungie a signed album each? Thanks!”

“Hey, Hyuck, did you know that Mark can’t cook? But you can! Man, soulmates really do complement each other perfectly, don’t they?”

“Hyung, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I read somewhere that Mark likes brunettes, so maybe you should consider dyeing your hair back to brown. The red hair might not cut it. Hey, don’t glare at me! I just saved your future relationship. You’re welcome.”)

And Donghyuck hated the fact that stupid Mark Lee had been on his mind for the past 36 hours straight, even while he was trying to _sleep_ , but at the same time, a persistent attraction had settled across his chest at the thought of Mark.

He figured it had to do something with the fact that Mark was the reason why the world had literally turned into something brighter. These new colors and Mark Lee were inexplicably linked to one another, and for Donghyuck, one could not exist without the other.

But despite this realization, Donghyuck still had no intention of contacting Mark. He felt like he needed space right now, and throwing Mark into this suddenly colorful picture would only complicate things further, especially considering Mark’s celebrity status.

His friends, especially Jaemin, had been disappointed when he’d told them about this, but they had understood. And boy, did it only remind him of how much he loved them because with that, he was finally beginning to find peace amongst the whirlwind of chaos.

That had only lasted a few hours though, promptly ended by Jaemin, Jeno, and Renjun waiting for Donghyuck outside of his apartment last night with solemn faces. “Mark Lee launched a search campaign for his soulmate.” And when Donghyuck had dropped his groceries on the floor in confusion (thank _God_ he hadn’t bought any eggs) they picked up his bags and followed him inside before showing him Twitter, where the hashtag #FindMarksSoulmate was trending at #2 _._ What the actual _fuck_.

Donghyuck had started scrolling through the hashtag, and it hadn’t taken long until he came across Mark’s handle and the tweet that had started it all.  

_Hey, if you were at the Seoul show on Saturday, and you started seeing colors as soon as I was on stage, please contact me through DM or email :-) I look forward to meeting you._

A tweet?

Mark was trying to find him by _tweeting_ out to his 5 million followers? Donghyuck couldn’t help but sneer.

God, the rapper may be an incredibly successful lyrical genius, but he was an _idiot._

And if the search campaign wasn’t already dumb, a whole lot of websites had picked up the story and ran with it, calling it the Cinderella story of this age.

It pissed Donghyuck off to no end.

(“Look, they’re calling me _Cinderella!_ Don’t they know that the characterization of Cinderella reflects a slightly misogynistic take on social oppression as well as the class system? What are they _doing_?”

“Hyuck, it’s not that deep. But that reminds me of something I’ve been meaning to ask you. Can I be your fairy godmother?”

“Shut _up,_ Injun. I’m obviously his fairy godmother.”)

The stupid search campaign had left Donghyuck furious, and he hadn’t even been able to sleep last night. He had instead spent the whole night coming up with ways to throw a wrench right into the search, just out of pure spite, and when he had finally come up with a plan that was good enough, he’d gotten up and gone to work early.  

Working in a high position at a well-known magazine had its perks for sure—especially since he adored working at NCT Life & Style—but he was sure that he had never truly felt the advantages of his position until this moment.

“Oh, hey, Donghyuck,” greeted Doyoung, slowly entering the room. “You’re in my office.” There was no accusation in the statement; it simply sounded like Doyoung was stating a fact.

“Good morning, hyung. And yes, I am,” replied Donghyuck, smiling.

“Why?” Doyoung deadpanned.

Donghyuck huffed. “I’ve called a meeting about a pressing issue.”

The young editor-in-chief raised an eyebrow in surprise. “In _my_ office though?”

“Yes, and Kun hyung’s coming any minute now, so it’s probably best if you take a seat.” Doyoung made a face but settled in his seat on the other side of the mahogany desk anyway.

“Why the sudden meeting? Is there a problem with this month’s edition?” asked Doyoung, and Donghyuck quickly shook his head.

“No, everyone’s right on schedule so we can submit the copy to the printer in a few days.”

“So there’s no problem?” It still seemed like Doyoung didn’t entirely believe Donghyuck.

“Well, there _is_ a problem, but–”

“We have a problem?” The other editor-in-chief at NCT Life & Style suddenly entered the room, gently closing the door behind him.

“Good morning, Kun hyung. No, there isn’t a problem with the magazine, but I _do_ have a request to make.”

Kun settled into the chair beside Donghyuck and reached for one of the grapes that were always at the end of Doyoung’s desk. “Oh. Well, alright, let’s hear it.”

Donghyuck took a deep breath. Here went nothing. “Have you heard of Mark Lee?”

“The rapper?” asked Kun, tilting his head in confusion. “Sure, what about him?”

“Oh, Taeil was telling me about him last night over dinner! I heard he met his soulmate over the weekend,” Doyoung suddenly remembered and then shook his head. “Real sad story.”

“What happened?” asked Kun, intrigued.

“Well, the boy met his soulmate during a concert this weekend, but since there were thousands of people there that night, he never found his soulmate.” Doyoung sighed. “He’s enlisted the help of social media and other websites to try to get the person to reveal themselves, but I don’t think there’s been much luck so far.”

“Oh, no, I’m sure they’ve gotten lots of responses. But it must be hard to filter out the lies and fake replies,” said Kun. He then turned to Donghyuck. “Why did you bring him up though?”

“Well, it was just that, the soulmate story. Figured it would make a good read, and it wouldn’t hurt if we included a small ad looking for _Cinderella,_ too.” Man, Donghyuck’s face must be so _red_ right now because it felt like it was on _fire._

“Cinderella. That’s a charming parallel you’ve drawn there, Donghyuck. _His soulmate ran off, leaving colors instead of a shoe behind._ Definitely have to include that in the ad somewhere,” advised Kun, sounding amused, and Donghyuck nearly cried. _Not Kun hyung, too._

“But Donghyuck, we’re only a few days away from a deadline. I don’t think we can afford to put people on that task right now.” Doyoung frowned, and Donghyuck was quick to answer, having already thought of this obstacle.

“I’ll do it all myself, hyung.” Doyoung looked suspicious at that.

“Really? Why though? Why does this matter so much to you?”

Donghyuck was sweating. He was _sweating_ because of all the _lies_ he was about to tell right now. “Just wanted to be a do something good for the people! People, as in Mark Lee. And I’m sure the story and the ad will bring a rise in sales and distribution, especially due to the interest that’ll come from the younger audience we’ve been trying to reach lately.”

Leaving for work this morning, Donghyuck hadn’t entirely decided on whether or not he should confide in these two about what had happened over the weekend. There was a part of him that ached to tell them—they were more than just his bosses; they were his _hyungs,_ and he trusted them with his life—but at the same time, he didn’t want to leave any more casualties than necessary with this plan of his.

So he’d settled on not telling them.

“Alright, if you’re willing to do all of the work on this story _and_ keep up with the rest of your work, then I don’t see why not,” said Kun, shrugging as he popped another grape into his mouth.

“Yeah,” Doyoung trailed off. “I don’t suppose I see a reason to say no.”

Donghyuck beamed and stood. “Great! Thanks, hyungs!” He turned to leave and then suddenly turned back.

“Can I just ensure one thing though?” He asked, right before he left their office.

Doyoung and Kun exchanged a confused look. “Sure, anything.”

“Anonymity of editors and writers when requested is a given at this magazine, right?”

“Of course, that’s always been a part of the policy,” said Doyoung, still confused. “Are you requesting anonymity?”

Donghyuck nodded, satisfied.

“I am,” he said, and then went to apparently go find himself.

 

 

 

Mark was getting ready to go on an interview when his phone suddenly lit up, indicating an incoming call.

Despite being less than five minutes from going live, he answered it.

“Mark— _oh my God—_ Mark, you know the magazine NCT Life & Style?”

“Yeah? Everyone does.”

“Okay, so they had this big headline across their latest cover, and it had to do with you, so I picked it up to just skim through the article like the amazing manager that I am, and you won’t believe what it says—hold on, I have it right here, I’ll just read it you _— holy shit, this might finally be something—_ okay, are you listening?”

“I’m listening,” responded Mark, trying not to laugh at whatever had gotten Ten so worked up.

“Alright so here it goes. _Dear Mark Lee, this is your Cinderella speaking. The one who burst into your life and then disappeared, leaving colors instead of a shoe behind. I see you’ve been trying to find me. It’s endearing, I’ll admit. But please stop running such a public campaign. It might just scare me enough to disappear on you for good. When I’m ready to meet you, I’ll send you a sign. You’ll know.”_

“Holy shit.” Mark whistled.

“I _know_ right! This search campaign of ours has worked like a _charm_. They’re slowly coming out of whatever cave they’re hiding in.”

In the back of Mark’s head, he knew that there was a small possibility that this was another fake message from someone claiming to be his soulmate. After all, he had no way of proving them right or wrong. But there were none of the usual red flags that he looked for, like too many exclamation marks or capital letters that conveyed an unusual level of excitement. Instead, this message had sarcasm all over it with just a hint of distress; it seemed genuine, and it just felt right.

And Mark really wanted to believe that these words were really from his soulmate.

“They said to not try anything else so publicly though,” Mark trailed off. “So should I call off the interview right now?”

“Nah, do it anyway. But don’t mention your soulmate like we originally planned, and we’ll plan on reigning in the rest of this campaign afterward.”

Mark grinned, feeling more hopeful than he had in the last three weeks. Finally, some results were coming up.

“Thanks, Ten. I don’t know what I’d do without you and everyone else.”

 

 

 

When Donghyuck’s friends inevitably heard about the NCT Life & Style ad, they expectedly lost their shit, just like the rest of the online community. (Donghyuck most certainly did not know that because he saw #FindMarksCinderella trending on Twitter and then spent the next few hours fuming while he scrolled through the tag.)

“Donghyuck hyung, what the hell is this?” Jisung was on the floor of Donghyuck’s kitchen, holding out the familiar page of the magazine that Donghyuck had revised many times before sending off to the printer, and Chenle was sat beside him, looking like he was about to cry, probably out of pure frustration more than anything else.

The pair had blue and purple hair now, and it made Donghyuck’s heart twinge painfully as he remembered the night that they’d made the bet over Mark’s setlist. It somehow felt long ago, but not at all at the same time.

Donghyuck shook off his thoughts and glanced at the magazine coolly. “A letter maybe? It’s addressed to someone, Jisung.”

“Hyung, _come on,”_ said Jisung, exasperation creeping into his tone as he threw the magazine to the ground, where Chenle immediately picked it up to read over it again. “If you’re going to contact him, why not just do it directly? I can’t believe how stubborn you’ve been about avoiding that for the past few weeks.”

Well, Jisung was right. Donghyuck had been a bit stubborn.

But it was just because of Mark’s search campaign; it was so incredibly stupid and had never once made Donghyuck want to contact him. He hoped that Mark would see his message and back off a little.

“Well, the point of this was to tell him to back off without revealing anything about myself or having to contact his managers.”

Chenle frowned at that. “Why are you making this so hard for yourself, hyung? He’s your soulmate, just go talk to him.”

“I don’t want to just go talk to him because he’s my soulmate. And I don’t want him to only talk to me because I’m his soulmate. I don’t want artificial love.”

“It’s not artificial love,” said Jisung quietly, while Chenle glared at Donghyuck, adding on “ _How could_ _you_ _say that?”_

“Listen, you two. Of course it isn’t artificial in most cases. When you two met, you immediately knew you were soulmates. There was no question about it. You didn’t want to _only_ talk to each other because you were soulmates. Sure, it helped, but there were a thousand different things that were driving you together in that moment, including your personalities and even just what you looked like. With that initial interaction, the artificial chemistry quickly faded and was replaced by something real. I never got that interaction though, so in my situation right now, it could definitely be artificial. Mark Lee doesn’t know anything about his soulmate, other than the fact that they’re his soulmate. That’s the only reason why he’s looking for them—that’s the only why he’s looking for _me_ , and that bothers me.”

Donghyuck was breathing heavily by the time he got to his point.

“And what if he has this whole idea of a soulmate built in his head now, and I don’t meet his expectations at all? He doesn’t know a single thing about me.” Donghyuck continued, and Chenle just sent him a sad smile, the anger having dissipated.

“Okay, I understand where you’re coming from, hyung, but he’s just putting a little faith in the universe right now.”

“Yeah, well, big mistake.” Donghyuck shook his head. He didn’t know when the tears had sprung to his eyes. “Never trust the universe.”

He walked toward the front door, nearly about to leave when Jisung piped up. “How exactly are you planning to give Mark another reason to look for you when you’re still here, going on dates with _Yukhei?”_

Donghyuck froze right before he left.

Jisung scoffed. “That’s what I thought.”

He let the front door slam shut.

 

 

 

“Donghyuck, you look as beautiful as ever,” said Yukhei, standing when Donghyuck reached their usual table at the cafe.

“Thanks,” replied Donghyuck, taking a seat after leaning up to give Yukhei a quick kiss.

“Are you okay? You don’t look so good.” Yukhei frowned, sounding worried.

“I’m fine. Have you ordered already?” asked Donghyuck.

It had been a month since Donghyuck had gotten into that fight with Jisung, and though they had both apologized to each other already, Jisung’s words still sprung to mind every time Donghyuck saw Yukhei. _How exactly are you planning to give Mark another reason to look for you when you’re still here, going on dates with Yukhei?_

“Actually,” Yukhei chuckled nervously, and it was so out of character from his usual loud and outgoing persona that it snagged Donghyuck’s attention. “I didn’t order because I’ll be leaving in a few minutes.”

“Oh?” said Donghyuck rather dumbly, and Yukhei just nodded.

“Yeah, I just wanted to have this last date to let you know that’s you’ve been so wonderful in the past few months we’ve been dating. You’ve been a great friend to me, and I appreciate everything you’ve done.”

“Wait, last date?” Donghyuck had apparently lost all of his brain cells.

“Uh, yeah, I met my soulmate yesterday,” Yukhei divulged, looking giddy, and Donghyuck felt oddly calm suddenly. “His name’s Jungwoo, and he’s the sweetest guy ever, no offense or anything. He’s quiet and he almost seems like a bore at first, but he’s one of the funniest people I’ve met in my whole life, and he’s so caring, too. I’ve only known him for one day, but we spent the whole day together, and I already adore him. So I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to end this. I hope we can still stay friends,” Yukhei ended with an apologetic look.

Donghyuck shook his head quickly. “No, don’t be sorry! I actually met my soulmate, too.”

Yukhei’s whole face lit up at that. “Really? Oh, man, that’s awesome! Maybe we can actually be friends now!” He sank into his chair in relief. “Oh, thank God, I didn't have to break your heart.”

Donghyuck snickered at that. “You’re not that much of a casanova, Yukhei. I got over you before you even broke up with me.”

Yukhei pouted at that, and Donghyuck laughed at him. He looked like a giant teddy bear. “So tell me more about your soulmate.”

 

 

 

By the time Donghyuck got home, the sun was setting, beautiful streaks of honey gold and rose pink washing the day away, and he felt significantly more settled about his whole soulmate ordeal than he had in months. It had been on Donghyuck’s mind lately, but the final straw had come from talking to Yukhei; the guy had only known Jungwoo for literally one day, but there was nothing artificial about the twinkle in his eye and the affection in his voice when he was talking to his soulmate.

And it had led Donghyuck to the conclusion that, sure, the universe may very well pick out someone who seemed entirely random for you, but it took a lot of work to give _meaning_ to the word soulmate.

It took a lot of belief in the nature of the universe and the unknown to allow yourself to lead a successful life with your soulmate. That’s why a very small percentage of soulmates didn’t end up well—those were the ones who didn’t have enough resilience—and that’s why sometimes a pair of soulmates ended up adopting a lone soul—those were the ones who had enough trust to fill the void in the galaxy.

And all this time, Donghyuck had been allowing doubt to ruin him. He wasn’t sure why it had taken this long for him to realize it.

Surprisingly, the knowledge didn’t feel too overwhelming. He felt energized instead, and it was quite comforting in fact.

“Hyuck?” Someone called out, and Donghyuck turned, his eyes landing on Jaemin.

“Oh, hey.” Donghyuck took off his sweater. “How was your date?”

Jaemin‘s eyes brightened. “Oh, it was wonderful. Everything felt the same with them, but it was so different at the same time.” Donghyuck smiled. It was what Jaemin deserved. “They’ll be picking me up later, even though I insisted that it was fine if they drop me off here.” He chuckled, shaking his head fondly.

The pair held their breath for a moment. “So how was yours? You’re back pretty late.”

Donghyuck‘s grin widened, knowing this would really make Jaemin‘s day, if it hadn’t already been made. “We broke up.”

Jaemin’s eyebrows flew up. “No way. Really?” Donghyuck nodded, and Jaemin tilted his head to the side inquisitively. “You look happy, though.”

“Yeah, well, Yukhei met his soulmate, and when his soulmate showed up to pick him up, we all ended up just talking for a few hours. They’re really cute together, I’m not going to lie.” Jaemin grinned at that.

“I’m glad I don’t have to crash any more dates then,” said Jaemin, bounding over to give Donghyuck a hug. “And I’m glad you’re taking this really well.”

Donghyuck hugged him back. “How else would I take it?”

“I don’t know. You could be really salty about the fact that he left you, the guy he’s been dating for months, for someone he just met.”

Donghyuck frowned, attempting to pull free from their hug. “Well, when you put it that way–”

“I was just kidding, don’t take me seriously,” Jaemin continued hurriedly, embracing Donghyuck again, and the latter just laughed, patting Jaemin on the back.

“I was just kidding, too. He was way too happy for me to be anything other than happy as well. Nothing else even crossed my mind when we were talking. Well, other than Mark.”

“Thinking about Mark now, are we?” They finally separated from their hug. “It’s been two months since the concert, hasn’t it?” asked Jaemin, and Donghyuck nodded, feeling a little sheepish. “He sure dialed it down, but he hasn’t stopped looking for you. Isn’t that sweet, Hyuck?”

“Shut up, Jaemin.” Donghyuck fell back onto the couch, trying to hide the blush that was threatening to take over his face now. It _was_ kind of sweet. “Just help me, I don’t know how to approach him.”

“Ah, the words I’ve been waiting to hear.” Jaemin paused, then suddenly added, “God, I’m so proud of you.”

Donghyuck just groaned loudly, signalling that he really didn’t want to get soft right now, and Jaemin just laughed, catching on as quick as a childhood best friend could. “Alright, I get it, so back to how you should approach Mark.” He thought about it for a few moments before he grinned. “You remember that ad you ran a few weeks ago? Let’s do another one.”

 

 

 

Doyoung glared at Donghyuck over his glasses and set his pen down. “No.”

Donghyuck’s heart fell.

“What, hyung, please. Just let me publish this one ad.”

“Donghyuck, I can’t believe you right now. Do you know what I had to do to cover for you when you published that last ad? You hadn’t even told _us_ that you were Mark’s soulmate, and then I had to use a mere company policy to fight off a horde of reporters. I lost fifteen years of my life trying to deal with that scandal! Thankfully, Mark took your letter seriously and got people to back off; otherwise, I would’ve really lost _all_ the years of my life.”

Doyoung finished his spiel and continued glaring, while Donghyuck took to pouting.

“ _Please,_ hyung?”

Doyoung groaned.

Kun peered his head into the office just then. “Donghyuck called me here?”

“This is _my_ office! Stop calling people into meetings here,” protested Doyoung, just as Donghyuck let out a cheerful, “Hyung, you’re here!”

“Hyung, do you mind if I run another ad in the magazine? And if you don’t, can you please convince Doyoung hyung too?”

Kun just chuckled at the request. “I’m assuming this has to do with Mark again.” And when Donghyuck nodded, Kun sighed. “I’d love to say that you can—we really did reach record sales—but it’s probably best if you don’t. You betrayed our trust, Donghyuck.”

Well, ouch. That was going a bit far. Way to make him feel guilty.

“That’s what I was saying,” said Doyoung, pressing his temples. “I’m sorry, Donghyuck, I really am. And you also know that we just sent the final copy to the printer. We’re not planning on making changes.”

“So what? Now I’m supposed to wait a whole month for the next edition to roll around, just so Mark knows that it’s me when I contact him? Great.”

“I mean, I have an idea,” offered Kun, leaning against the door. Donghyuck made a motion towards him as if to say, _pitch it to me, I’m desperate._ “We aren’t going to mass produce copies of the ad this time around. How about we send Mark a _special_ edition of this month’s magazine instead?”

And at that, Donghyuck exhaled a deep sigh and clutched the ad draft in his hand a little tighter, finally matching Kun and Doyoung’s smiles with his own.

 

 

 

Mark was shaking.

He had dreamt of hundreds of ways that he could meet his soulmate, but this had certainly never been it.

After nearly three months of searching, most media outlets had lost their interest in Mark’s—dare he say it—Cinderella story. Only a few people, which mostly consisted of Mark and his close friends, even continued to care, and Mark didn’t want to admit that he had been losing hope, but he had.

Weeks of feeling unwanted by his soulmate had unfortunately gotten to him. If he had been on the verge of a depressive episode before he‘d met his soulmate at that concert all those months ago, he had definitely reached that point after the concert.

While waiting for his soulmate, he hadn’t been able to help but think the worst of himself since he’d done as his soulmate had asked of him, but they were still nowhere to be found. Was the thought of being his soulmate really that repulsive? Was there something wrong with him?

Thankfully, his perceptive best friends had been as supportive as always, making sure Mark didn’t spend too much time moping and beating himself up; and seeing their concern for him, Mark had decided that it would be best to drown himself in work rather than end up doing something he’d regret. So seeking an escape, he’d been spending almost all his time in the studio, writing songs into the late night and crashing during the day between schedules.

Self-care had vanished from Mark Lee’s vocabulary, and it had become routine for Taeyong and Jaehyun to check on him from time to time at the studio; so when the pair had come bounding inside two nights ago with a package and the widest grin on their faces, Mark had merely been expecting dinner, not Taeyong’s next words.

“Mark, I _know_ you’re not subscribed to NCT Life  & Style, so if this is what I think it is, congratulations.” Mark had taken one look at the cover of the magazine and stopped breathing. (Jaehyun would swear on his life that Mark had cried, although Mark would deny it to his dying breath.)

When he had opened the magazine to the first page, there was that sign he’d been promised.

_Dear Mark Lee, this is not your Cinderella speaking; let’s make that clear, first. This is your soulmate. I saw that you backed off when I asked you to, and I appreciate that. It’s given me the time I need to think and adjust, and I’m sorry it’s taken this long, but I would like to meet you this Saturday at 3PM at the park location below. Wait for me by the swings._

(“Well, what is it?”

“It’s my soulmate. They—they said they want to meet me this Saturday.”

”Holy shit.”

”Let’s get it, Mark!”)

And so, that was how Mark had ended up sitting on a swing at some random park that even his GPS had trouble guiding him to, with his magazine in hand and his heart on his sleeve.

A figure suddenly came into view on the opposite end of the park, and Mark’s heart started racing. _Shit, they’re here. Oh, it’s a boy. Oh my god, what if he hates me, and that’s why he didn’t want to meet me all this time. Damn it, is it too late for me to go home?_

As the boy got closer, Mark tried to calm himself down. _It’s your soulmate, no need to be nervous. They’ll understand you, and they’ll care for you. Just have some faith._

“Mark Lee?” The boy asked once he got closer to the swings. He was seriously attractive, with dark hair and slim features. Mark knew that he could definitely model if he wanted to.

Mark nodded and cleared his throat. “Cinderella?” He asked, and it sounded dumb to even his own ears, but it was all he had, damn it.

The guy made a face. “Uh, I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean, but hey, I love your music, dude!” The guy said, and Mark nearly frowned.

Mark didn’t know why, but he got the feeling that this guy wasn’t his soulmate. After all, there wasn’t even any fanfare.

But then Mark felt dumb as he backtracked. _Fanfare?_ What was he expecting? A huge _I’m your soulmate_ banner? Idiot.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I thought you were someone else,” Mark apologized, feeling insanely embarrassed to have called this absolute stranger something that felt oddly personal.

“That’s alright. I assumed as much.” The guy shrugged before suddenly leaning in, and Mark instinctively leaned away. “Hey, would you mind leaving though? My boyfriends are coming by soon, and I’m going to need both of these swings.”

“Boyfriends?” Mark parroted dumbly.

“Yeah,” he said solemnly. “God gave me two hands to hold both of theirs.” When Mark didn’t respond, the guy raised a perfect eyebrow, suddenly sizing Mark up. “You got a problem?”

“Of course not.” So this guy was definitely not Mark’s soulmate.

The guy stared at Mark for a few more seconds before nodding.

“Alright, well I said what I said, dude, and I’m going to have to ask you to leave. Sorry.”

“Wait, but I’m supposed to be meeting my soulmate by these swings today at 3. It’s nearly 3 now, so I can’t leave, _dude_.”

The guy looked amused. “Uh, I’m sorry, but I’m pretty sure that’s not how soulmate meetings work. You can’t just speak these kinds of things into existence, dude.”

“Stop calling me _dude,_ dude,” Mark snapped, and the guy laughed. “And we planned this, so it’s more of just a regular meeting.”

“Oh, I see.” The guy sat on the empty swing beside Mark. “So you’ve met your soulmate before, huh?”

“Ah, well, see, yes, no,” Mark stuttered, and the guy raised an eyebrow.

“So what is it? Yes or no?”

“Not yet, okay.” Mark huffed. “And you’re kind of hogging my attention right now when my soulmate could be showing up any second. What’s your name anyway?”

“Doesn’t matter.” He grinned and stared pointedly ahead.

Mark absentmindedly followed the other guy’s line of vision and felt his heart skip several beats. _Am I dying?_

There was another boy heading towards them now, dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt with an unbuttoned shirt layered over it. He had red hair as well, setting off the golden hues in his skin, and though Mark couldn’t discern his features from here, he _knew_ in his _bones_ that this boy was cute.

And when the boy was standing in front of them, with Mark’s heartbeat thrumming in his ears, Mark found that his intuition had been right. This boy was the _cutest_ person he had ever seen, but perhaps he wasn’t even a person; perhaps he was an ethereal being, a child of the sun.

“Is this one of your boyfriends?” Mark muttered to the guy next to him, but unfortunately Cute guy heard it as well.

“Boyfriend? Jaemin, you told him I’m your boyfriend?”

“No, but you know that you could be if you wanted to.”

Cute guy just shook his head with a fond smile. “I think you’ve got enough love to keep you going. What’re you doing here anyway?”

“Well, I _was_ waiting for Renjun and Jeno, but then I saw this guy waiting here.” He jabbed a thumb in Mark’s direction. “I guess I’ll just leave and text them not to come though.” He then turned to face Mark. “Bye, it was nice meeting you.”

“You too,” murmured Mark, bewildered as Jaemin suddenly took off. Bizarre.

The redhead then stepped forward and replaced Jaemin on the swings, and it redirected all of Mark’s focus. “So you know Jaemin?”

“A little. Sorry, but who are you? What’s your name?”

Cute guy seemed a little flustered and taken aback by the sudden question. “Uh, my name is Lee Donghyuck.” _Donghyuck._

“That’s a lovely name,” Mark told him, and Donghyuck graced Mark with a toothy smile. _God is real, and I am feeling blessed._

“Thanks.” He started swinging side to side instead of back and forth, and it began stressing Mark the fuck out. “And I know who you are, so it’s pointless to ask.”

“Really? I’m not even worthy of a question? Bummer,” said Mark, standing as physically far away from Donghyuck as he can with the swing still around his waist. Donghyuck giggled— _oh, hey, are you there, God? it’s me, Mark—_ before he looked over at Mark and burst into laughter.

Mark’s chest exploded in warmth.

“What are you doing? Sit on the swing like a normal person!” Donghyuck commanded, still swinging side to side, and Mark shook his head adamantly.

“Maybe once you start _swinging_ like a normal person!”

Donghyuck pouted. “But this is so much more fun! You’d see if you stopped being such a coward and sat on your swing right.”

In that moment, Mark learned two things. One, that Donghyuck’s pout was indisputably the cutest thing he’d ever seen in his entire life—right up there next to baby animals—and two, it was better to just not question some things in life.

So he sat on the swing again and allowed it to pull him back to the center of the swingset, but perhaps he shouldn’t have gotten on the swing standing this far away because now he had momentum while hurtling straight towards Donghyuck, whose eyes widened in surprise right before the two of them collided.

It knocked them apart, and it left a slight ache in Mark’s shoulder, but when he looked up, Donghyuck was visibly restraining his laughter. “Did you that on purpose?”

“Of course not!” Mark insisted. “I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

Donghyuck eyed him. “Oh. Well, then you’re kind of lame, Mr. Lee, because that was kind of funny.”

Mark felt his stomach sink. He still knew next to nothing about this boy, but Mark knew one thing; _lame_ was not one of the words he wanted Donghyuck to call him.

“I’m just kidding. Kind of. You _are_ kind of lame, but it’s real endearing.” Donghyuck hopped off the swing and outstretched a hand toward Mark. “You want to get out of here? Maybe go for some ice cream?”

Mark frowned and glanced at his watch. “I’d love to, but I’m supposed to be meeting my soulmate at 3. It’s already past 3, so I’m sure they’ll be here any moment now.” Donghyuck’s face was unreadable. “I’m sorry. Maybe some other time! Here, let me get your number though!”

Mark had nearly forgotten that he was here to meet his soulmate, and now the thought of getting Donghyuck’s number was exciting him more than the fact that he was finally meeting his soulmate any moment now. Mark better pull himself together before they get here, damn.

Donghyuck smiled at him then, and it was the kind of knowing smile that Taeyong had sported while carrying in the NCT Life & Style magazine, the kind of knowing smile that Johnny directed at him whenever Mark showed up to a schedule just five minutes before it began. It made him feel like he was in on whatever the joke was, even if he wasn’t—it made him feel like he was safe at home.

“I’m a little offended, Mark Lee. You didn’t even bother to ask me if I was your soulmate.” Donghyuck peered at him closer. “Perhaps, you’re scared of the answer,” he teased, but there was an earnest glint in his eye.

Mark was speechless though. Donghyuck, being his soulmate? For some reason, it hadn’t once crossed his mind, and he assumed it was probably because he’d immediately recognized that the possibility was too good to be true. Donghyuck, from what Mark had figured out in less than ten minutes, was playful and kind. He was a bit chaotic and already knew how to stress Mark out, but it was all good-natured, and Mark could tell that he had a good heart regardless. Donghyuck also had the cutest pout in the world—Mark would like to point out that babies were _shaking_ —and the sweetest laugh that only urged Mark to make him laugh again.

It didn’t take much for Mark to hope.

“Cinderella?” His voice sputtered to life but died out just as quickly as he held his breath.

To be honest, Mark was expecting some kind of rejection: some form of confusion, whether that be a verbal or facial indicator, and then a blatant refusal.

But Donghyuck simply smiled, acceptance carved into every turn of his face. “I wholly resent that nickname. This isn’t some kind of Cinderella story, and I’ll get into that later. But now, as I was saying: ice cream. Let’s go.” 

**Author's Note:**

> some notes about this au that i would have liked to write about, but simply didn’t because i wasn’t sure how it would fit the flow of the narrative:
> 
> jaemin, jeno, and renjun were initially planning to spy on markhyuck’s first real meeting, but then jaemin got there first and ended up talking to mark, and then he decided that it’d be better if the two were alone
> 
> when donghyuck first meets mark’s friends, they’re weary of him and rightfully so (they’d seen how mark had been affected by this whole thing) but then they fall in love with him even quicker than mark had
> 
> when mark meets the rest of donghyuck’s friends (aside from jaemin, who he’s already met), it’s at donghyuck’s “meet my boyfriend” dinner party. they all think he’s the coolest guy for approximately three minutes before mark starts cutting up fruit with scissors
> 
> of course to any rule, there is always an exception. and in this au, jaemin is kind of a special case in the world of soulmates. he’s always been able to see in color. he doesn’t entirely know what that means, but he just knows that’s the way that things are. even though donghyuck was angry for him, jaemin himself was never too bitter about it
> 
> if it wasn’t clear, noren are soulmates !! jaemin had introduced the pair to one another, at a time when both renjun and jeno had the biggest crushes on jaemin, and while they grew to love each other, they continued to love jaemin as well. and so they brought jaemin in on their bond when jaemin suddenly confessed to them one day. (i’m lowkey considering turning this into a norenmin spin-off au)
> 
> also, this probably wasn’t clear but doyoung and taeil are soulmates too !! it’s implied and it’s only brought up like once very briefly lol
> 
> a year down the road, once mark and donghyuck have moved in with each other, mark shares what the three months of waiting were like for him—how he thought donghyuck hated him, how he felt stupid and inadequate—and it ends in a lot of tears, cuddles, and reassuring kisses, but it leaves them stronger than before 
> 
> donghyuck still flinches when he hears the word “cinderella” to this day, but he has to say he has a soft spot for the stupid fairy tale
> 
> ————————
> 
> et fin.
> 
> if you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading!! leave me your thoughts if you liked it! it means more than you know
> 
> (i'm also making an au on my nct au twitter acc @sungieberry so come and yell at me to update it)


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